Two Quebec men arrested after boat with cocaine set ablaze near Martinique

Rough waters prevented authorities from bringing the vessel under control, but they said the occupants agreed to follow customs officials to the island of Saint Martin

Seized packages of cocaine are shown in a government of Martinique handout photo. Two Quebec men are in a Martinique jail after a sailboat brimming with cocaine was set ablaze on open water earlier this month.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Government of Martinique

MONTREAL — Two Quebec men are in a Martinique jail after a sailboat brimming with cocaine was set ablaze on open water earlier this month.

French authorities are confirming the two were arrested during an operation that began on July 18 involving customs officials, the regional coast guard and a French frigate.

They were trying to intercept a sailboat they suspected was being used to traffic drugs.

Rough waters prevented authorities from bringing the vessel under control, but they said the occupants agreed to follow customs officials to the island of Saint Martin.

However, officials say the two men abandoned the boat the day after, setting it on fire and taking refuge in a life-raft.

The fire was quickly brought under control and authorities say they managed to salvage some 1,506 kilograms of cocaine.

Authorities say the pair appeared in court Tuesday and were ordered detained by a judge in Fort-de-France.

While a French official declined to name the suspects, Le Journal de Montreal identified them earlier this week as men in their 50s from the Riviere-du-Loup area, about 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.